Otters fall to Gateway 7-1, slip to second in Fronter League East

In a battle of Frontier League divsion leaders, the Gateway Grizzlies had the upper hand Tuesday night at GCS Ballpark as Tucker Jensen scattered four hits in a 7-1 win over the Evansville Otters.

With the loss, the Otters (21-12) slipped into second place in the East Division, a half-game behind Traverse City (22-12).

Jensen improved to 4-1, while Evansville's Matt Zielinski suffered his first loss in five decisions. Jose Flores drove in a pair of runs for the Grizzlies, including an eighth-inning homer.

The Otters took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by John Schultz that drove in J.R. Higley, who led off with a single.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Grizzlies (22-11) used a bases loaded fielder's choice to tie the game and an RBI double from Chris McClendon propelled Gateway to a 2-1 edge. Catcher Landon Hernandez followed with a two-run, ground rule double later in the inning to complete a four run frame.

Down 4-1, Evansville tried to get clicking offensively but Jensen retired 15 consecutive batters at one point.